Filda Salim
5 Thesis Essay Intercultural misunderstanding is a problem that foreigners always have difficulty with whenever they come to a new country. The process of which individuals and groups communicate from different background is called intercultural communication. I realized the process of responding to people from different cultures can be really challenging. It is true that the greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential for misunderstanding and mistrust. To avoid culture shock and misunderstanding, foreigners should know more about the country. If foreigners would like to come to Indonesia, they should know about Indonesia’s culture that values tradition, punctuality, and communication styles, …show more content…
It is impolite for women to walk with tight clothes in public, especially in cities like Aceh where women is forbidden to wear skimpy clothes. Women wearing shorts, miniskirts and crop tops will often be mistaken for prostitutes and will be harassed, especially at night. In general, the best outfit for men is a loose cotton top and long pants. For formal occasions, women normally wear a long-sleeved dress or below-knee-length skirt. A man should not shake hands with a Muslim woman unless she extends her hand first. Additionally, people are expected to use right hand to do everything as left hand is the hand that people use to clean themselves in the bathroom. People should not touch anyone with left hand, do not eat with it, and most importantly do not pick things with it. Most of the time, people use right thumb to point things because pointing with the index finger is considered rude. We should not pass anything over the top of someone’s head and should not show someone the soles of our feet when seated as it seems offensive. Aggressive postures including putting hands on hips are also impolite. Every gesture should be polite to show the modest feeling. Moreover, Indonesians called the head of a family is the eldest men in the family who is our father, “Bapak”. Members of the family are ranked by age rather than sex. An older relative may take a role as an auntie and uncle, yet parents retain the position of highest …show more content…
Time is very flexible in Indonesian culture. There is a well-known phrase that people called “ Jam Karet “ or rubber time. The flexibility of time in Indonesia has become a bad habit for almost everyone. Most Indonesians do not use their time efficiently to plan everything in details. Besides, they tend to procrastinate things. A person is judged as a successful person if he/she is punctual and can make up deadlines. However, there are a lot of unpredictable things that will happen and cannot be easy for Indonesians to plan ahead and set deadlines. Someone will make a plan and deadline so that they will meet expectations. Moreover, Indonesian do not appreciate times because the time is reflected that time is not money. They prefer to build relationships rather than to get profit in
5 Thesis Essay Intercultural misunderstanding is a problem that foreigners always have difficulty with whenever they come to a new country. The process of which individuals and groups communicate from different background is called intercultural communication. I realized the process of responding to people from different cultures can be really challenging. It is true that the greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential for misunderstanding and mistrust. To avoid culture shock and misunderstanding, foreigners should know more about the country. If foreigners would like to come to Indonesia, they should know about Indonesia’s culture that values tradition, punctuality, and communication styles, …show more content…
It is impolite for women to walk with tight clothes in public, especially in cities like Aceh where women is forbidden to wear skimpy clothes. Women wearing shorts, miniskirts and crop tops will often be mistaken for prostitutes and will be harassed, especially at night. In general, the best outfit for men is a loose cotton top and long pants. For formal occasions, women normally wear a long-sleeved dress or below-knee-length skirt. A man should not shake hands with a Muslim woman unless she extends her hand first. Additionally, people are expected to use right hand to do everything as left hand is the hand that people use to clean themselves in the bathroom. People should not touch anyone with left hand, do not eat with it, and most importantly do not pick things with it. Most of the time, people use right thumb to point things because pointing with the index finger is considered rude. We should not pass anything over the top of someone’s head and should not show someone the soles of our feet when seated as it seems offensive. Aggressive postures including putting hands on hips are also impolite. Every gesture should be polite to show the modest feeling. Moreover, Indonesians called the head of a family is the eldest men in the family who is our father, “Bapak”. Members of the family are ranked by age rather than sex. An older relative may take a role as an auntie and uncle, yet parents retain the position of highest …show more content…
Time is very flexible in Indonesian culture. There is a well-known phrase that people called “ Jam Karet “ or rubber time. The flexibility of time in Indonesia has become a bad habit for almost everyone. Most Indonesians do not use their time efficiently to plan everything in details. Besides, they tend to procrastinate things. A person is judged as a successful person if he/she is punctual and can make up deadlines. However, there are a lot of unpredictable things that will happen and cannot be easy for Indonesians to plan ahead and set deadlines. Someone will make a plan and deadline so that they will meet expectations. Moreover, Indonesian do not appreciate times because the time is reflected that time is not money. They prefer to build relationships rather than to get profit in